Q: The 15th BRICS Summit announced the expansion of BRICS. Can you give us more details on that?

A: From August 22 to 24, BRICS held its 15th summit in Johannesburg, South Africa. President Xi Jinping attended the summit. At the summit, President Xi and leaders of other BRICS countries unanimously agreed to invite Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the UAE, Argentina, Iran and Ethiopia to become members of the BRICS family. We congratulate the above-mentioned countries.

The announced expansion is of important historic significance. Last year, BRICS started the expansion process during China’s chairmanship. China has since been working with other BRICS members to advance the expansion process. Many emerging markets and developing countries have taken keen consideration on joining BRICS and more than 20 countries submitted their applications, which speaks volumes about the appeal of BRICS and the enthusiasm and aspiration of emerging markets and developing countries for cooperation. The expansion demonstrates the determination of BRICS countries to unite and cooperate with fellow developing countries. It meets the expectation of the international community and serves the common interests of emerging markets and developing countries. It also marks a new starting point for BRICS cooperation, and will inject new impetus into the BRICS cooperation mechanism and further expand the force for world peace and development.